Martinez Ready for Thursday Return

Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez will return to the starting rotation Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after missing one start because of right shoulder tendinitis.

“I’m ready to go,” Martinez said after playing catch before Tuesday’s game against the Devil Rays. “I feel fine.”

Martinez is 7-2 with a major league-best 2.01 earned-run average. He missed his scheduled start against the Atlanta Braves last weekend, but had a strong bullpen session Sunday.

“If there are no complications, we expect him to go on Thursday,” Red Sox pitching coach Joe Kerrigan said.

Reliever Ugueth Urbina pitched for Montreal on Tuesday night amid signs a deal that would send him from the Expos to the New York Yankees was off.

Both teams were looking at medical reports on the players involved in the proposed trade--infielder D’Angelo Jimenez and pitcher Brandon Knight of the Yankees and Urbina.

But with no announcement of a deal, and Urbina pitching, it appeared there would be no trade.

Meanwhile, the Yankees sold more than 19,000 tickets to sell out Yankee Stadium for Cal Ripken Jr.’s final scheduled game Sept. 30. Ripken said he will retire after his 21st season with the Baltimore Orioles.

The St. Louis Cardinals reached a deal with state and local officials on a $646-million downtown development plan with a replacement for Busch Stadium as its centerpiece.

After a 4 1/2-hour flight from San Diego, Ted Williams returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation from open-heart surgery. . . . Rick Ankiel’s next stop on his climb back from wildness will be the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie league affiliate at Johnson City, Tenn. . . . Catcher Eddie Taubensee, suffering from a viral infection, was put on the 15-day disabled list by the Cleveland Indians. . . . The Chicago Cubs put catcher Todd Hundley on the 15-day DL because of a strained muscle in his lower back. . . . The Montreal Expos put right-hander Hideki Irabu on the 15-day DL because of a strained right elbow. . . . The Houston Astros activated closer Billy Wagner from the 15-day DL in time for Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Rockies. . . . Right-hander Chris Brock, signed to a $1.7 million, two-year contract before the 2000 season, was designated for assignment when the Philadelphia Phillies activated reliever Wayne Gomes off the 15-day DL.